Money for a study on safer access to Albion Falls has been tentatively approved by the Hamilton Future Fund.

The fund’s board of governors moved the $45,500 request from the city’s public works department forward for approval in the 2018 round of grants.

Making the popular natural site safer is a priority of the city, said board member and west Mountain Coun. Terry Whitehead.

“Too many people are either dying or getting severely hurt,” he said as the board reviewed the grant application from the public works department.

“It’s a challenge and we’re trying to address that challenge.”

Last July, following two accidental deaths and numerous rescue calls — and with numerous people pushing the limits of safety by sitting on outcrops or walking in the water at the top of the falls — the city cracked down.

Chain link fence was erected around the top of the gorge in an effort to keep people out and bylaw officers started handing out trespassing tickets.

A bylaw department report to council noted more than 49,000 people visited Albion Falls between July 17 and Oct. 9 — an average of more than 4,000 per week, about 85 per cent of them on weekends.

During that time, 162 people were ticketed for trespassing under the city’s parks bylaw and 542 vehicles were tagged for parking violations.

The city’s landscape architectural services department plans to use the money for a feasibility study into a safe access to the south side of the gorge and a viewing platform.

“I think this stairway is a necessity,” said board member and upper Stoney Creek Coun. Doug Conley. “It’s not a luxury.”

The study will guide a $1.2-million construction project, according to the application.

The city received Future Fund grants in 2004 for the two viewing platforms at the top of the north side of the gorge.

The Future Fund was created in 2002 when Hamilton Hydro was sold. The money was invested to be used to fund community projects and initiatives.